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Hurricane Gerda (1969)

Hurricane Gerda was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 121 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 977 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 3 of the cities we track; the strongest was Providence, RI, with a modeled peak gust of 55 mph.

Peak strength121 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
3
LandfallsFirst September 10, 1969
1
Lowest pressure
977 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Gerda’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 10, 1969, Category 1 at 81 mph, 44.7°N, 67.3°W

Modeled winds at cities (3)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Providence, RI55 mph45 mph122 milesSep 9, 1969, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Boston, MA54 mph44 mph117 milesSep 9, 1969, 2:15 PM GMT-4
Norwich, CT48 mph39 mph140 milesSep 9, 1969, 2:00 PM GMT-4

What happened

After crossing southeast Florida as a weak tropical depression, Gerda passed about 50 miles off Cape Cod at a forward speed of about 40 mph and moved inland over the far eastern tip of Maine late on September 9, 1969.1 NHC's best track puts landfall at 0100 UTC September 10 (9 p.m. EDT September 9) with 70-knot (81 mph) winds, a Category 1 hurricane.2

The Nantucket lightship, about 75 miles southeast of Cape Cod, measured 125 mph winds with gusts to 140 mph, but Nantucket itself reported only gale-force winds.1 Monthly Weather Review described the damage as minimal, mostly to marinas, trees, high power lines and highways from Cape Cod to eastern Maine.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Gerda, August 21 to September 10 (Monthly Weather Review, Atlantic hurricane season of 1969), NHC storm wallet
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025

Best track (23 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 7, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1011 mb26.3°N, 80.4°W
Sep 7, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph27.0°N, 80.6°W
Sep 7, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1010 mb27.6°N, 80.7°W
Sep 7, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph28.2°N, 80.4°W
Sep 8, 00:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph28.8°N, 80.0°W
Sep 8, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph29.5°N, 79.6°W
Sep 8, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph1000 mb30.4°N, 79.0°W
Sep 8, 18:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph993 mb31.7°N, 78.0°W
Sep 9, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph991 mb33.4°N, 76.3°W
Sep 9, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane92 mph986 mb35.4°N, 74.4°W
Sep 9, 12:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane104 mph984 mb38.0°N, 72.2°W
Sep 9, 18:00 UTCCategory 3 hurricane121 mph980 mb40.9°N, 69.4°W
Show all 23